Lewis R. Foster

Biography: A writer for Hal Roach since the mid '20s, Foster began directing comic shorts there; he worked with Laurel and Hardy during their cautious transition from silent films to sound: Double Whoopee, Bacon Grabbers, Angora Love, Unaccustomed as We Are, Berth Marks, Men O' War. He debuted in features in the mid '30s, co-directing with Milton Carruth, and through the '50s wrote and directed a series of routine low-budget actioners, most notably Manhandled and Crashout. More striking were his script contributions in the '30s and '40s for directors Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), George Stevens (The More the Merrier), and Rene Clair (It Happened Tomorrow).